Gone cold to the bone, the boy stared at him. The explanation made perfect sense. His father would have aided them without realizing what he was doing, thinking it was the right thing, that they were as concerned about his aunt as he was. The King of the Silver River was supposed to have warned his parents of the Druids, but perhaps he had failed. If so, his father wouldn’t have known of their treachery. How could he?

  Pen brushed back his tangled red hair while trying to think what to do.

 « Let me put this to you another way,” the taller Druid went on, moving slightly in front of the other. «My companion is less patient than I am, although he isn’t volunteering to cross the bridge, either. But when morning comes, we will bring one of the airships across, and then we will have you, one way or the other. There are only so many places you can hide. This is all a big waste of time, given the way things eventually have to turn out.»

  Pen suspected that was true. But his freedom, however temporary, was the only bargaining chip he possessed. «Will you set my friends free, if I agree to come over?»

  The Druid nodded. «My word on it. All of them. We have no use for them beyond persuading you to come with us. Once you cross over, they are free to go.»

 « What about my parents?»

  The Druid nodded. «Once you are back at Paranor, they can go, too. In fact, once you’ve told us what we want to know, what your purpose is in coming here, you can go, too.»

  He was lying. He made it sound believable, exuding just the right amount of sincerity and reasonableness through his choice of words and tone of voice, but Pen knew the truth of things at once. The Druid would have done better to tell him something less soothing, but he supposed the man saw him as a boy and thought he would respond better to a lie than to the truth.